Configure Forms in PCC EHR

Open the Forms Configuration Tool

Select “Forms” from the Configuration menu to open the Forms Configuration tool

Add a New Form

Click the “Add” button to create a new form.

The default workspace is an 8.5 x 11-inch page with 1-inch margins.

Name the Form

Give the form a unique name.

Other users at your practice will see this name on the Patient or Account Forms component drop-down list n the patient’s chart. The name will also be used as the default document title when you generate the form.

Add Letterhead

To add your header or footer (or both) to any form, click the header or footer icons.

Compose Text

Click on the workspace and type or copy and paste to add text.

Use the style options in the toolbar to customize the font size, weight, and color, as well as the text alignment and list style. Only one font is available at this time.

Search For and Insert Variables

Use the Variables pane to find and insert variables. Double-click on any variable to insert it onto the form, or select the variable and click the “Insert” button.

The variable inserts where your cursor is placed on the form.

You can optionally add variables using the variables shortcut. To learn more, read Use the Variables Shortcut.

Fill Decision Variable Fields As Needed

Click on orange variables to fill out the required field in the options pane.

Add Response Variable Prompts As Needed

Configure each Response variable with a prompt. The prompt should tell the person filling out the form what kind of information to include in their response.

Add a Provider Signature Image and Related Variables

Find and insert a provider signature image variable wherever you want the selected provider’s signature to display.

Only one provider’s signature image can be selected at the time of form generation. You can add the signature provider’s full name, NPI or Tax ID in addition to the signature image.

To learn more about configuring provider signatures, read Configure Provider Signatures.

Adjust Margins

Click the icon to view the margin size choices and, optionally, adjust the margins.

When you select a different margin size, the form updates in real time.

Preview

Click the eye icon in the top right corner of the form to preview it at any time.

The form renders in real time. Variables auto-fill with real data. Where there is no data to auto-fill, the variable renders as blank.

Make the Form Active

When the form is complete and ready to be added to the Forms component in the patient’s chart, change its status to Active in the top right corner of the form configuration window.

New forms start out as Inactive by default to prevent other users at your practice from generating them before they are ready.

Save the Form

Click “Save” or “Save + Exit” to save your work.

A “Last Saved” timestamp at the bottom of the form editor tells you the last time the form was saved.

Optionally Test Printing

If your practice generates form letters that have unusual formatting, use response variables or other special features, you may want to confirm that they print as expected.

Find the Form

Use the Search Filter to narrow down the list or click the column headers to change how the list is sorted.

Open the Form

To open a saved form, double-click it or select it and click the “Edit” button.

Edit the Form

You can make changes to your form name, text, formatting, variables and status.

To discard all changes to a form that you are currently working on, click the “Cancel” button.

Save the Form

When your edits are complete, click “Save + Exit”.

Optionally Delete a Form

To delete a saved form, select it and click the “Delete” button. This action is protected by a special user permission in the User Administration tool.

Deleted forms are removed from both the Forms Configuration tool and the Forms component. If you need to restore a form that was deleted by accident, contact PCC Support.

Select a Form

Select a form in the Forms component in the patient’s chart to generate the form.

Enter Free Text if Prompted

If the form contains free text fields, respond to the prompts.

If you always add the same text to your free text prompts, consider creating a snap text entry for this field.

To learn more about Snap Text, read Expand Short Text into Common Phrases.

Select Encounter Data If Prompted

Some forms require additional input. If needed, select the visit, phone note, or portal message that contains the data you want to use to fill out the form. If prompted, select a provider to sign the form, and fill in free text prompt fields when applicable.

Signature Permissions: Your practice can restrict which staff members can generate a provider’s signature on forms. When a user doesn’t have permission to generate a provider’s signature, all variables except the signature image will auto-fill as expected. The signature area will remain blank to accommodate a wet signature. To learn more about configuring provider signatures, read Configure Provider Signatures.

Optionally Preview the Form

If the form was built using the Forms Configuration tool, you can preview it in real time as you fill it out.

If the form was built as a PDF, you must finish generating it in order to see it filled out.

Save the Form

Once fully generated, you can save the form to the patient’s chart, share it through the patient portal, print out a hard copy, add tasks, sign it, and more.

Optionally Edit or Discard the Form

If you need to make changes to the generated form, click the “Back” button. To discard the form without saving it, click the “Discard” button.

Work with Your Saved Document

Once you are happy with the generated form, you can take the same actions with it as you would any other document in PCC EHR. To learn more about how to work with documents, read the article Work with Documents in a Patient’s Chart.

Open the Variable List

When you get to a spot in the text where you would like to insert a variable, type “<” to call up the quick-insert variable list.

The quick-insert variable list is identical to the list in the Variables pane.

Narrow the List

Narrow down the list by typing a few letters of the variable you want to insert.

Select the Variable

Use your arrow keys or mouse cursor to select the variable you want from the list, then press the enter key or click to insert it onto the form.

The variable replaces the quick-insert text that you typed.

Open the Letterhead Tab

To create a new header and footer, open the Letterhead tab.

Add Variables or Text

Insert variables using the Variables list or the quick-insert shortcut list. You can type or copy and paste text in your letterhead.

Upload a Logo

If you have a letterhead image or a logo, click the picture icon to upload it from your computer or enter the URL of the image.

Optionally Resize or Format

Adjust the size, orientation, or text wrapping by clicking the image and selecting from the menu. Any variable or text can be resized or formatted using the toolbar options.

Optionally Adjust Margins

You can adjust the margins on your forms and practice letterhead to improve their appearance and make better use of space.

Hover over the margins icon to see current margin settings.

Save and Test

Once you’ve completed your letterhead, click “Save”. To test the layout, add your header and footer to a form and generate or print it.

To make further edits to your letterhead, click back into the Letterhead tab and make your edits. Any changes will be applied to all forms that include a header or footer.

Contact PCC

Contact PCC Support at 802-846-8177 or 800-722-7708 if you think you need to upload a PDF form into PCC EHR.

Send the Form to PCC

PCC Support will request a copy of the PDF form. When you send the form via email or support ticket, please identify the following:

• Which fields on the form should auto-fill with patient or account data
• Where to insert free text response fields
• Whether the form needs to be able to be signed by more than one provider

PCC Support will use the information you provide to build a smart version of the form that can be saved as a PDF and added to the Forms Configuration tool. This may take some time.

Copyright Protected Forms: If you want to upload a form created or owned by a third party, ensure that you have permission to use the form beforehand. PCC assumes no responsibility for verifying that you have permission to use a form.

View the PDF

Once the PDF form is available in the Forms Configuration tool, you can view, configure, and manage many aspects of it on your own. PDF forms are marked by a PDF icon on the main page of the Forms Configuration tool.

Double-click on a PDF form to open it in edit mode. You can also select it and click the “Edit” button.

Edit the PDF

In edit mode, you can:

• view the form contents and any smart configuration that PCC Support built in
• Rename the form
• Configure prompts that tell providers and staff how to fill out the free text response fields on the form
• Preview the form using real data from any patient on your PCC system
• Set the status of the form to Active or Inactive, which controls whether providers and staff can find it in the Forms component and generate it for patients

You cannot edit the body of PDF forms in the Forms Configuration tool. Contact PCC Support to request changes to the body contents of PDF forms.

Forms Need Unique Names: In order to save a form, you must give it a unique name. The form editor prevents you from saving forms that do not have unique names.

Configure New Prompts as Needed

If a PDF form is migrated with more user response fields than it used to have, additional response prompt lines will automatically appear in the “Configure Response Prompts” pane when you edit the PDF.

Reasons for Extra Prompts: Response fields are a versatile tool for creating forms that optimally serve your practice and patients. In the process of migrating your PDF forms to the new forms solution, PCC Support might realize that additional response fields are needed to improve the form’s function for your practice. These additional fields should not come as a surprise to you. Be should be sure to write prompts that help users understand how to fill them out when they generate the form for patients.

Delete Unneeded Prompts

Some PDF forms might prompt you to delete unneeded response prompts when you first edit them. This happens when the PDF form contains fewer response fields than it used to and it no longer requires the same number of prompts. Typically, PCC Support will adjust this for you, but you might encounter it yourself from time to time.

If you do encounter the prompt to delete unneeded response prompts when you open a PDF form, either contact the person on PCC Support who helped you with that form, or read through the original list of prompts associated with the form and delete those that are no longer needed.

Reasons for Unneeded Prompts: When PCC Support helps you migrate your PDF forms into the Form Configuration tool, they will adjust your forms to work within the Forms Configuration tool. In the process, the number of response fields on your PDF forms may be reduced. The step of deleting unneeded prompts when you first open a migrated PDF form is the final step of adjusting the form to take advantage of all functionality in the Forms Configuration tool.

Save and Test the PDF

Save any changes you made, and generate or print the form to test it out. If your practice generates PDFs that contain unusual features, be sure to test that they work as expected.

Optionally Adjust Printer Settings for Watermarks

If you worked with PCC to generate a watermark on your forms, you may need to adjust the printing settings on your workstation for the watermark to print at the right darkness level.

Contact PCC for PDF Edits and Unusual Requirements

If PCC Support helped you set up a custom form with unusual scripting or special information requirements, you will need to coordinate with PCC Support to make additional adjustments after uploading and testing your PDF.

Open Your Protocol in Protocol Configuration

Open the Protocol Configuration tool and pick a chart section or protocol where you will add or move the Forms component.

Add the Forms Component

Click “Add” to add the Forms component to your protocol. Use the tab on the side to slide it to a new location in the protocol.

Select Single-Click Forms

Double-click on the component to set up default forms for that chart note or chart section. For example you could configure School/PE Excuse letters to be single-click in sick visits, or make form letters single-click in the Medical Summary or Demographics chart sections.